World Cup 2023: Not enough runs, says Shakib Al Hasan after loss against Pakistan

Bangladesh skipper Shakib Al Hasan admitted they could not put enough runs on the board after their seven-wicket loss against Pakistan at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Tuesday. It was the same old story for the Tigers as they lost three early wickets in the Powerplay overs, which put them on the back foot. In the ongoing showpiece, Bangladesh has lost 18 wickets in the first 10 overs, the most for any team.

The Shakib Al Hasan-led team was skittled out for a paltry score of 204 runs in 45.1 overs after they opted to bat first. But soon Bangladesh found themselves struggling at 23-3 at the end of six overs with Shaheen Shah Afridi striking twice.

Subsequently, Litton Das and Mahmudullah added 79 runs for the fourth wicket but with the former’s wicket, Bangladesh kept losing wickets at regular intervals and thus could not get to a par score on a decent batting pitch.

Hasan admitted they have failed to come up with a collective performance, especially with the bat and it has led to their downfall. Furthermore, with this loss, Bangladesh became the first team to get knocked out of the World Cup 2023 semifinal race.

Shakib Al Hasan said in the post-match presentation, “Not enough runs, The wicket was really good, we lost early wickets again. There were some partnerships, but not big partnerships. Disappointing with the bat. Credit should go to Pakistan, the way they bowled and the way they batted in the first 10 overs.”

Speaking on his batting position, Hasan said, “We’ll have to think about that. We are not getting many runs from the top four batsmen. I was batting in the top four, I wasn’t scoring. My confidence was low too. Luckily I got some runs, feeling better now. At this moment, changing too many things gets difficult. We have to keep moving forward. We have to perform together. We need collective performance, which is not happening. Two more matches, hopefully we can bounce back. Everywhere we go, they (fans) keep supporting us. We have to give something back to them so they can smile.”

Meanwhile, Pakistan was right on the money with the ball with Shaheen Shah Afridi and Mohammad Wasim Jr taking three wickets apiece. Moreover, Fakhar Zaman made a fine return to the playing XI, scoring a match-winning 81 off just 74 balls in the run-chase.

Bangladesh will next take on Sri Lanka at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi on Monday.